help with reception-Bend, OR

[BrianP]

Hi, I installed a channelmaster 3018 last summer and did a scan and got 26 channels, one of which was ch.2.2 METV from Portland OR. A couple weeks ago I lost 2.2 completeley. I adjusted the antenna all around with no success. I even pointed the antenna at magnetic coordinates listed for my location on tv fool. my address is 59626 navajo cir. Bend, OR 97702
seeking some help! BrianP

[Battledad]

You didn't say how high your antenna is and whether there are any line of sight issues. Using the tool here on TV Fool I ran your profile:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...5b943a25b53119

Perhaps more detail will help others here help.

[BrianP]

my antenna is 30 feet off the ground

[Battledad]

I used 12 Ft for the input. You can go back and rerun it to see if the heighth makes any difference. My wife's parents lived in the LaPine area some years ago next to the Little Deschutes. I climbed up an evergreen about 30ft off the ground with a chain saw and cut the top off as well as some branches. I mounted their antenna to the trunk and ran coax down the tree and into their house. That was the only was to get any sort of signal for them.

+=>
-----
Digital Tuners can develop -Digital Glitches- that are not cleared out with simple channel scans.

To clear tuner do Double Rescan.

http://www.wchstv.com/DoubleReScanAlert.pdf.

Can also call the Tv station and have a informational conversation with the Engineering Department.

Do Not send text.

Do Not send E-mail.

Do Not go to social jibber jabber web sites.

Call the Tv station with a phone and have a real voice conversation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KATU

[ADTech]

If you are still getting 2.1 but not 2.2, there is nothing wrong with your antenna system. Please be as specific as possible with your symptoms.

[BrianP]

I also lost 2.1

[ADTech]

Well, that is different....

From which translator have you been receiving KATU?

[BrianP]

I'm not sure which translator but I just did a double scan and lost 2.1 and 2.2 off my channel list

[StephanieS]

Greetings Brian,

A likely culprit is K35LD-D licensed to Prineville. It has a signal that is trending weaker, but ought to be easily received with an outdoor antenna.

There is a second KATU translator that covered Bend specifically. K29CI doesn't appear on your TVfool report. From all data I could find this would be an analog signal.

All your other channels unchanged in reception? If so, this may be a translator issue on site. A call to KATU's engineering department might be a good step. K35LD-D is owned and operated by KATU. Remember be pleasant to them and ask them if there is service going on with that translator. You may be the one that red flags something is wrong and prompts a service call to determine the situation.

KATU's main switchboard # is 503-231-4222.

Remember these translators rebroadcast signals. That means two antennas - one to receive one to transmit. If ice or general weather damages the receive antenna at the transmission site, the translator could lose enough signal to cause the translator to shut itself off. I run into that often with K23HT-D. KLEW's RF 22 translator does this as well on more active weather days.

You need to pick a signal that's your bellweather. If it is always reliable and stable and you have an odd duck that's dropped out while everything else is normal. As ADTech said, it's not on your end.

Cheers.

[BrianP]

Thank You StephanieS
I called METV in Portland and they told me that they did in fact have some transmitter problems a couple weeks ago. I also went on their website and they have posted that many people are experiencing what they call Sun Outage, something to do with the spring equinox affecting tv signals thru Mar. 12. That is a new one on me but just this morning I picked up some signal from METV and my antenna is getting the programming description. Thank You again.
BrianP